Submitted
Conrad Dueck
After a month of warm-up games, some re-shuffling of teams, and an influx of new players (young and old), the Fort Frances Men’s Basketball League opened its season Tuesday.
While the low scores may attest to some of the rustiness of the players, there was good energy on the court and an excitement to be back playing meaningful games.
It is exciting to note the league has expanded to five teams this year (up from three last year) and there are three games a night instead of two.
Another big bonus is that four sponsors have come on board, which will result in new jerseys in the coming months.
In what was probably one of the lowest-scoring games in years, Team X started the night with a 42-38 win over Revco behind some very balanced scoring.
Jeremy Strain led the way with 10 points while Kobi Ward added eight.
For the Renegades, late addition Cole Kowalski (he only showed up for the first time on Tuesday) netted a respectable 16 points to lead the team.
Aaron Bujold chipping in with nine, including two three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Team Black, last year’s champs, was altered slightly to make things a bit more even in the league.
But as the newly-formed Sunset Landscaping squad, it didn’t seem any less dominant in winning 81-50 over the BDO Ballers.
Defending league scoring champ Josh Mastin drained a game-high 33 points while fellow American Cody Johnson hit six “threes” to wind up with 22.
Jeff Campbell and Todd Richards led BDO with 15 points each.
While they could argue they were tired, being the one team that had to play two games on opening night, Revco likely would say it was the fact they missed way too many shots that resulted in a 70-32 rout to RRFN Red-Tailed Hawks.
Sam Soderman was a huge force on the boards for RRFN while putting up 26 points—most from within the paint.
Brandon Larson, another league newcomer, used his speed to notch 16 on his first night out.
It should be a very good year for the league and the players are looking forward to a full season of games.
There are over 10 high-school aged players mixed in with former high school and college players, as well as middle-aged men who like to get exercise and contribute where they can.
There are plenty of subs for each team, so energy and speed shouldn’t be a problem.
If you have any questions about the league or would like to sponsor Team X, contact Conrad Dueck at dueck.conrad@gmail.com
